ITTF partners with Sportcal for GSI Event Study on the 2017 Individual World Table Tennis Championships

Sportcal will conduct a bespoke GSI Event Study on the 2017 Individual World Table Tennis Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has signed a one-year agreement for Sportcal to undertake a GSI Event Study, with an additional focus on tourism impact, on the 2017 Individual World Table Tennis Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany, which will take place on 29 May – 5 June this year.

The Individual World Table Tennis Championships is the most prominent and prestigious competition in table tennis. The first edition was first held in London, United Kingdom in 1926 as a combined individual and team event. In 2001, the ITTF decided to split the championships into two separate events taking place in alternate years, with the first standalone individual competition taking place in Paris, France in 2003.

The 2017 event in Düsseldorf will see approximately 700 players from about 130 countries participate in five medal events over eight days. In addition, it is estimated that there will be 400 team officials, 200 umpires and referees and 300 volunteers at the event.

It is anticipated that the competition will have a total attendance of around 55,000 at the Messe Düsseldorf venue, while over 100 nations around the world are expected to receive television coverage of the event. 

ITTF Partnership Manager Jonny Cowan, said:

"We are looking forward to working with Mike and the team at Sportcal to gain new and valuable insights into the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf from 29 May to 5th June this year. The 2015 edition had a total reach of 440 million through TV, social media and press, which we hope to surpass this year. We already know the media values and TV exposure from all our ITTF events, so are looking forward to the GSI Event Study to add to this knowledge with data and insights around the tourism value to the host city which will help our National Associations in their future host city negotiations. We are also interested in hearing back from fans in terms of their experience, what elements of the event was enjoyable and where things can be improved in future. All of this will assist us in increasing the quality of our events which will be a key element in continuing to grow table tennis around the world."

Sportcal will work in collaboration with key stakeholders involved in staging the event, including ITTF; Düsseldorf 2017; sponsors; broadcasters and any third party organisations to gather, assimilate, analyse and compare the data and narrative around the event.

Mike Laflin, CEO and Founder of Sportcal and the GSI Project, stated:

"We are delighted to be working with ITTF on the Liebherr 2017 World Table Tennis Championships in Dusseldorf, which is promising to be a great event. The World Table Tennis Championships already provides great media exposure for host cities and sponsors and the GSI Event Study will show that it also produces a broad range of holistic impacts, including tourism and social benefits.  This will assist ITTF in their strategic development of the event and help them attract future host cities and sponsors." 

Sportcal, the world's leading provider of sports market intelligence, will conduct the study as part of the GSI Event Studies Programme which runs from 2017 through to 2020. 

GSI Event Studies Programme 2017-2020:

Sportcal is embarking upon a four-year programme during the 2017-2020 Olympic cycle, which will bring federations, rights owners, host cities, governments and key stakeholders together to work with Sportcal and engage in the GSI Project.

The programme will involve the development of annual studies from a diverse range of sports and events, to help event owners and hosts understand the true impact of their events across a wide range of sectors, and to support them in the further development of their event strategies.

For further information about the GSI Project and how to join the GSI Event Studies Programme, contact gsi@sportcal.com or call +44 (0) 20 8944 8786